STONY BROOK, N.Y. – On Saturday, Sept. 14 the Columbia men's and women's cross country team opened its cross country season at The Wolfie Invitational hosted by Stony Brook. Both teams posted solid debut performances with runner-up finishes in a four team field that included Providence, Stony Brook and Marist.

The men's team featured 17 of the top 23 finishers in the 8K race for a second place score of 30, just three points behind first place Providence with 27. Daniel Everett led the way for the Lions with a fourth-place time of 24:52.95.The Lions maintained a strong front pack through the race finishing just seconds apart. John Gregorek (24:55.70) placed fifth, while Ben Golestan (24:56.71), Jacob Sienko (24:57.98), Nicolas Composto (24:58.47), Daniel Nestor (25:21.66) and Dustin Wilson (25:24.67) all rounded out the top 11.

The women’s team faced a tough challenge in its first meet of the season competing against USTFCCCA No. 1 ranked team in Providence. Columbia finished second in the women's 5k with a team score of 42. Waverly Neer began her junior season with a strong time of 18:07.12 for fourth place on the day. Sophomore Leila Mantilla (18:47.42) took eighth place and seniors Caroline Williams (18:52.32), Chelsea Carrick (18:55.75) and Danika Simonson (18:59.00) all finished in the top 11 for Columbia.

The Columbia men will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 4 to race in the University of Notre Dame Invitational. The women's team will gear for competition at the Paul Short Invitational on Friday, Oct. 5 in Bethlehem, Pa.